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Use Cell Values in Requests

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byAna
< Knowledge Base

When using the API Connector add-on for Google Sheets, API requests can be based on dynamic or fixed values within your spreadsheet. This is a very flexible function that enables you to, for example, use an automatically updated date in a spreadsheet as the start or end date of a query.

You may reference cells almost anywhere:

  • API URL path
  • Headers
  • Request body
  • JMESPath expression

Contents

Reference cell containing full value

To use this function, wrap your cell reference in 3 plus signs on either side. (The plus signs tell API Connector that this is a cell reference and not part of the original URL.) So a reference to cell B2 in a tab called QuerySheet would be written like this: +++QuerySheet!B2+++

api-connector-cell-references-img1

Combine fixed values and cell references

Your request field can contain a combination of fixed values and cell references. Just wrap the cell reference piece in 3 plus signs as described above, like this:

api-connector-cell-references-img2

Reference a list of cells

You can both reference cells and stack multiple requests together (paid feature). This is useful for running through a list of requests, like this:

https://itunes.apple.com/search?term=+++Input!A1:A10+++

Example: dynamic dates

Instead of hard coding dates into your requests, you’ll often find it easier to reference a Sheets cell containing a dynamic date. That way you don’t need to manually update your API URL.

Let’s take the Harvest API as an example. Every API will be a bit different, but this will demonstrate the process:

  1. Check the documentation to see what date fields are available for your API. In this case, Harvest’s documentation shows a few different date fields you can work with:
    api-connector-cell-references-img4
  2. Create an Inputs tab in your sheet containing your date, making sure you match any format requirements shown in the documentation.

    Setting the format via the display toolbar does not change the underlying format. So if the API requires an ISO 8601 format like “2021-01-26”, explicitly set the format with a function like =text(today()-1,"yyyy-mm-dd").

    api-connector-cell-references-img5
  3. In the API Connector sidebar, construct your API request URL to include your date fields from the Inputs sheet, e.g.
    https://api.harvestapp.com/v2/time_entries?from=+++Inputs!B2+++&to=+++Inputs!B3+++
  4. Again, make sure to use the date format and parameters required by your API. Harvest uses from and to, but other APIs may use start_date, end_date, or something else.
  5. Now every time you run your request, it will use the dynamic date fields from your sheet.

Notes

  • The +++ syntax is only for use within the API Connector sidebar; you can’t reference a cell that itself contains +++ syntax. If you want to construct a URL in Sheets, use Google’s native cell-referencing syntax, e.g. ="https://www.googleapis.com/analytics/v3/data/ga?ids=ga:11111111111&start-date="&'Dates'!A2&"&end-date="&'Dates'!B2&"&metrics=ga:transactions,ga:transactionRevenue".
  • The ImportAPI() Custom Sheets Function is an alternate method of running API requests based on a cell.
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50 thoughts on “Use Cell Values in Requests”

  2. So, linking to cells for a POST is now possible? If so, can the body of a request be dynamic based with fields tied to cells?

    Reply

  3. Hello Ana, firstly I would like to thank you for your contribution, this add-on is simply a great work!

    Quick question – would it be possible to Trigger the API call when there is a change in the Cell Value? There are few scenarios where this would be helpful.

    Reply

  4. Can you reference a cell in the required headers? APIs often require authentication tokens in the header, which then require an API POST to get that token for their temporary period of time (usually 5min). Great add-on by the way, makes writing APIs super easy!

    Reply

  5. Hello, I am new to API calls. If I wanted to use parameters how would I adjust for that in the API add-on. Example, I want to do an API call to get the value of a vehicle. Here is an example from the API source: GET http://api.carsxe.com/marketvalue?key=&vin=1FT8X3BT0BEA61538&mileage=120000&interval=180&format=json
    Are the variables HEADERS? Can you assist me?

    Reply

    • You would add that entire URL into the API URL Path input field, making sure to include your API key in the empty space where it reads ?key= (the API documentation should tell you how to get your API key). The documentation will also tell you if that API requires headers; if not, you’d just leave that section blank. I suggest checking out the Quick Start article for a complete example of how to set up and run an API request.

      Reply

  6. Is there a way to stack calls similar to how we use a range of cells such as:
    http://dnd5eapi.co/api/equipment/+++EquipmentList!B3+++/
    http://dnd5eapi.co/api/equipment/+++EquipmentList!B4+++/
    http://dnd5eapi.co/api/equipment/+++EquipmentList!B5+++/
    but instead do this:
    http://dnd5eapi.co/api/equipment/+++EquipmentList!B3:B5+++/

    Reply

  7. This is a great tool. Is there a way to stack cells in body as well? I tried with +++Sheet1!A2:A5+++ but returns only A2.

    Reply

    • The JMESPath field does not currently accept cell references, cell references can only be used in the request URL, headers, and POST body fields. Sorry for the inconvenience, I’ll try to add that in the future.

      Update: this is now available.

      Reply

  11. Is it possible to reference a cell to a nested value:
    "dateRanges": [{"startDate": "2021-10-27", "endDate": "2021-11-02"}],
    "metrics": [

    I am trying to set the startdate and end date based on a cell

    Reply

      • Thanks! Unfortunately, I keep getting a 400 error. I am using this as URL Path for the Google Analytics API: https://analyticsreporting.googleapis.com/v4/reports:batchGet?"dateRanges": [{"startDate": "+++Inputs!B2+++", "endDate": "+++Inputs!B3+++"}]

      • The GA API uses a URL of https://analyticsreporting.googleapis.com/v4/reports:batchGet for all API requests. If you want to add date ranges you’d include them in the POST body like this:
        {"reportRequests":[{"viewId":"11111111111","dateRanges":[{"startDate":"+++Inputs!B2+++","endDate":"+++Inputs!B3+++"}],"metrics":[{"expression":"ga:users"},{"expression":"ga:sessions"}],"dimensions":[{"name":"ga:browser"},{"name":"ga:country"}]}]}
        Please check this article for more info.

  12. Great app. Oh my you have done well. So, I have my API call working with static data within the body. I get the results I expect. I have also put in a variable in place of a static piece of data and it too works great. I am wondering if there is a way that a conditional could be set up to look at new data based on a cell change, and post the API call pulling the data. Example. I have a spreadsheet that we used to sell tickets like a box office would do. We enter Name, Email, next to a Seat. The seat is the data that I need to flow into the API, but only if the Name and Email is completed. I can of course do this manually, but hoping it would run as a service, or on a time schedule. The API books the seat on the server so it is no longer available for booking. Thanks again for this great tool.

    Reply

    • Hey John, thank you! I’m glad you like API Connector.
      There are 2 ways you can trigger API calls automatically: through scheduling (which will update at some time interval), and through the IMPORTAPI function, which can update when a cell changes. If you can add an IF (or similar) function around your Sheets functions, such that the cell only changes upon the condition you’re looking for, then it looks like IMPORTAPI would work for this use case. Feel free to reach out to support if you’d like more specific help setting it up.

      Reply

      • Hi Ana,

        Can you make it possible? Since the API we are using only allow it via request body in POST method. It will be a huge help.

        Regards,

      • There are some challenges with that, but I’ll add it to the feature request list. For now, you can cycle through multiple request bodies as described here.

  14. Hi Ana,

    I was hoping to be able to add a custom date-time, which I could then cell-import to the API URL. However, I received an Error 400 because Binance API detects the “+++” as its own separate input, resulting in an error from Binance API. How can I resolve this? Thanks in advance.

    1. I want to get the candlestick data from a specific date… for instance 27 December 2021 14:00:00 (1640613600)
    2. I multiplied the Unix by 1000, because Binance API’s Unix has three extra zeros (1640613600000)
    3. I referenced the Unix000 Cell to the API URL’s startTime as +++Sheet1A1+++ (https://binance-docs.github.io/apidocs/spot/en/#kline-candlestick-data)
    4. Error 400, Illegal Character

    Reply

      • Hey Geraldo, I don’t think Binance detects the +++ as an input since we don’t send the +++, we only send through the referenced value.
        So I suspect there’s some issue with your URL or the value in the cell.
        Can you please share your request URL or a link to your sheet so I can take a look?

  15. Can a POST request include a dynamic cell reference when used within an IMPORTAPI() function? I would like to be able to copy the function down a column and have the request reference cells within that row only.

    Reply

    • If you mean the POST request URL, then there’s no problem copying it down to reference subsequent cells in the row. But if you mean the request body, then there’s currently no way to do that because IMPORTAPI only lets you enter a dynamic URL, not request body. To use dynamic request bodies please check out the multi-query function instead.

      Reply

  16. Hello.

    The following error occurs:
    IMPORTAPI Error: Request ‘requestName’ doesn’t exist!

    I ran this Request in the sidebar Manage Api Requests, and the result is positive.

    Reply

    • Is your request actually named requestName? The name you use in the IMPORTAPI function needs to match the name you’ve saved the request as.

      Reply

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